This long New York Heat Wave

[edhopper]

I have lived in New York for over 40 years, and while it has been this hot, or hotter, I recall very few heat waves lasting this long. It has been 90+ since last Tuesday and will stay that way until next Wednesday. That is 8 days straight of 90+. Most likely a record. But because of the anti-science GOP, nothing will be done to turn the Climate Change tide and I can expect this to be more common in the years to come.

[Beakybird]

1. I weep with you bro/sis!

I have nieces and great nephews there, and it makes me so sad that they have to deal with this plague of heat.

[edhopper]

2. I have never used my AC for more than a few days

Usually the nights cool down to sleep comfortably.
It has been on for a week now.

[Beakybird]

4. I lived through a 5 day 100+ heatwave without air-conditioning.

You can't think properly. You just lie there praying for it to be over.

[edhopper]

6. But

was it a dry heat?

[Dave says]

8. And, no, it was not dry heat

(See my post, below.)

However, roughly 15 years ago I was in India in 114 degrees with, for that area, very low humidity. It was tolerable. I just left Manila beforehand where it was 99 and very high humidity. It was not tolerable, I couldn’t stand it.

After an additional decade of climate change, the region where I live routinely gets high nineties with high humidity. I don’t go out much when it’s bad.

(As a young man, I rode my first century in 105 degree heat. I had heat exhaustion in the end: stopped sweating, was at best semi-coherent. But I survived to ride about 10+ centuries a year for the next 2 decades. I came to actually prefer riding in the heat.)

[edhopper]

9. I only did a century once

my feeling was "okay, that's done, nothing more to prove."

Did ride in 100+ weather, would not again.

[Dave says]

12. I only did 1 century in 100+

…but many in the nineties. At my peak, I’d ride about 3000 miles a year. Sadly, I just gave away my last bike. Looking at recumbent power-assisted tricycles now.

What eventually got me off the bike was my (ex)wife, who didn’t share the sport, and kids.

(Now I have a blood cancer that destroys bones - I’m free to exercise, but my doctor strongly says “don’t fall!” Thus I’m looking at tricycle recumbents. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet.)

[edhopper]

14. So sorry to hear about that

hoping for a positive outcome.

[Dave says]

15. Thank you :)

[Dave says]

7. I did the same

Thank god for box fans!

(Maybe you were in the same city as I was. This was some time in the early eighties, iirc. In the Midwest.)

[mitch96]

11. When I moved to Florida I thought I could do that too.. Ahh no. To hot to sleep and think straight.

All windows open and the ceiling fan on high.. Still too hot.
Like up north you live with the heat on all winter, down here we live with the air on all summer.
m

[Warpy]

28. You'll acclimate, but it takes time

I somewhat laughingly described the area my parents retired to as "the carport district" because you'd see old folks who couldn't afford to run their central AC living on cheap resin furniture, eating their meals, and watching their TVs in their carports. At dusk, when the mosquitoes came out, they'd go indoors, probably running the AC for an hour to cool things down and dry them out, then spending the rest of the night with fans.

My mother despised Florida almost as much as I do and said she loved to see all those big high rise condos going up because they'd make Florida sink faster.

[Scrivener7]

3. Usually people hunker down in the winter. I'm getting summer cabin fever.

Even a trip to the beach was pretty beastly because of this heat.

[edhopper]

5. I was at Jones Beach a week ago

felt like The Devil's Anvil from Lawrence of Arabia.

[Scrivener7]

10. Same at another area beach. The day was: water, half hour out of water, water, back

to the car in sandy shoes because even the sand is too hot.

[mitch96]

13. "because even the sand is too hot." I remember doing this silly little dance walking on hot sand

singing "ooooH...Ahhhh... crap dat's hot....
m

[Scrivener7]

16. .

[paleotn]

20. I hear that's actually a thing in Florida.

[Scrivener7]

29. But this is New York!

[paleotn]

30. Isn't everything south of Okeechobee....

the 6th borough of NYC?

[Scrivener7]

31. I didn't say it! (But isn't it?)

[H2O Man]

17. Recommended.

It's only supposed to reach 90 degrees here in upstate New York today, with the heat index value being 95. Possibility of storms id at 30%, increasing in the next 72 hours. I like the heat, so long as there is enough water for the garden. But it does tire me out much faster when I'm outside.

There were two air conditions built in when I moved here, but I've never touched them, other than when I'm dusting. I used to enjoy walking/sitting in the woods on days like this, but in the past three years lyme disease is an issue. At a younger age I mowed paths all about my property, including into the woods, but since my children grew up, I haven't done that nearly as much. One path to the pond is it.

[bamagal62]

18. I was 8 months pregnant

During a long Heatwave in Europe. No air conditioning. I would put a plastic lawn chair in the shower and just turn the cold water on and sit there. I have never been more miserable in my life and I grew up in south Florida.

[Torchlight]

19. Is air conditioning standard in most homes in NY?

I've never been to NY, haven't really spent much time at all in the northeast at all and wonder if AC is standard or just an afterthought. Full home units or those smaller window units or both?

[paleotn]

21. Not sure about NYC, but in northern New England and the Adirondack region of NY it's not...

Around here, central HVAC is very uncommon outside of non-residential structures. For residential housing, window and zone AC is the rule since we usually don't need it for more than 1 to 2 months per year and then only off and on. That's changing, unfortunately.

I grew up in the south, so a few weeks of actual hot weather by my standards is tolerable, but still uncomfortable. Went outside this morning and thought...I know this feeling. It's what you get stepping out of the concourse at Hartsfield (Atlanta) or Douglas (Charlotte). And one of several reasons why we left. Seems it took a number of years, but the heat followed us.

[edhopper]

24. I'd say it is

Most big buildings have it and you see units in many widows of apts. and homes.
I looked it up, and while numbers vary, it looks like 75% to 90% of private residences. Public Housing is lower.

[FakeNoose]

22. Oh my, that is sizzling!

I spent a few summers in New York City and I can recall many times the thermostat hovered in the nid-90s. But after a few days it would go back down into a more comfortable range of 80s. I can usually stand it if the temps cool off at night. Upstate NY nights usually do cool off, especially when there's a nice breeze. You can't always count on that in the city though.

Take it easy during these hot days and try to relax in shade. Drink lots of water.
Pets are especially vulnerable in the heat.

[Green Line]

23. I live in Eastern MA

We are in the same heat wave, it's unbearable, not going to break until Wednesday. I live a few blocks from the ocean which usually spares us the worst of it, but not this time. I prefer winter to this.

[Pepsidog]

25. My son took his MCATs on 100 degree day and testing center's AC broke, he said it felt like taking a

test in an oven. He is now on his second month of his orthopedic surgery residency.

[Rebl2]

26. It seems

like it has been in the nineties most of the summer, with a few 100’s throw in in MO. I likely am wrong, but seems like we go for more than a week in the nineties, then it will cool down to the eighties for a couple days and go right back into the nineties. Don’t remember it being like that when I was a kid in the 60’s and 70’s.

[cksmithy]

27. My husband and I just

endured 100 degree heat (105)+ or - from July 18 to August 5 with no air conditioning in California's central valley. We've had evaporative cooling before but upgraded to ac in 2006, which completely broke down and needed to be replaced. We live in a 100 year old two story house, have a really old circuit breaker box (that is going to be replaced), kept tripping breakers for ac window units. I can imagine climate change in the future and how awful it is going to be. Couldn't think straight, had industrial sized fans going during the day, all electricity off except for (refrig) when we turned the upstairs bedroom ac window on. the poor cats would sleep near our door for the cool air that escaped from under the door, (I have extreme allergies) during the night. Finally got ac repaired and running on Aug 5. We are now doing ok, the cats too, still need the circuit box upgrade, waiting for an estimate. The night time lows were in the mid 70's and no breeze. There was no way to cool the house down, even with an barn exhaust fan in one of our dormer windows.